A lightening strike near the White House, Washington DC on Thursday killed two persons leaving two others in critical conditions.
Confirming the unfortunate incident, Metropolitan Police disclosed that the victims who were identified as Donna Mueller, 75 and James Mueller 76 both from Janesville in Wisconsin were rushed to the local hospitals, but died on Friday morning.
According to police report the other two adults are still in critical condition.
Similarly, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who condoled with families of the deceased victims in a statement said, “We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park. Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones.
She added: “We are praying for those still fighting for their lives.”
Meanwhile, in a Washington Post, Scientists warned that “the climate crisis is increasing the likelihood of lightning strikes across the United States, after lightning struck at a square near the White House, leaving two people dead and two others in critical condition.”
According to the District of Columbia fire and emergency medical services department the four people were struck in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex.
Although details of the strike are still sketchy, the report revealed it was the result of a large thunderstorm that swept through the city in the evening, unleashing high winds and severe weather.
The National Weather Service also confirmed that hot, humid conditions in the capital were primed for electricity. Air temperatures topped out at 94F (34C), or 5F higher than the 30-year normal maximum temperature.
More heat can draw more moisture into the atmosphere, while also encouraging rapid updraft, two factors for charged particles, which lead to lightning.
A study released in 2014 in the journal Science warned that the number of lightning strikes could increase by 50% in this century in the US, with each 1.8F of warming translating into a 12% rise in the number of lightning strikes.
In a separate incident on Thursday, a lightning strike in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton national forest killed one student and injured another, officials said.
John D Murphy, 22, of Boston, died of cardiac arrest after being hit by lightning while on a trip with a group from the National Outdoor Leadership School, a non-profit global wilderness school.